BWV or AKV?

[JAMIESMITH]

I'm really torn and looking for some help! I am trying to rent DVC points for the last week of next January. I really wanted to stay in a value studio at AKV, but David's was unable to get the points before those rooms were rented out for some of our dates. Now I'm trying to decide if I want to go with a standard studio at AKV Jambo House or try Boardwalk Villas.

A little background: My family (my husband, our five year old daughter, and I) have only been to WDW once before. We stayed at The Poly and loved it! The monorail was so convenient. The resort was gorgeous. We loved our room and it really did feel like home when we got back to it from the parks in the evenings. We can't afford to stay there again this time and with all the DVC construction that's going on, I'm not sure I would want to. Plus there are so many other resorts we'd love to try!

I love the theming of AKL and I know my husband would, too. Our little girl loves giraffes, but I know we would be booking a standard view room and not a savannah view. Whether we stay there or not, I do want to eat at Boma.

I don't like the theming of BWV, but I do love the fact that it is in walking distance of two parks. We won't have park hoppers so cutting through Epcot to catch the monorail to MK won't be an option. We're going in January so we won't be getting into the scary clown pool I do think that my daughter would like the room because pink and green are two of her favorite colors.

Please give me some direction. Do you love or hate one of these resorts? I know either could result in a long walk to our rooms at night. Are the smoking areas easier to get to at one or the other? That will be a factor for my husband.

Thanks so much!

 

[mouseaider]

Jamie.... you picked my two favorite resorts!

While I do not know anything about the smoking areas, I would think your daughter would absolutely love staying at AKV - Kidani Village. And I would splurge a little and get a Savannah View Studio. Your daughter could wake up and see giraffes right outside her window.

Both of these resorts have an opportunity of long walks but My DW and I never minded either. I'm 63 and she is a little younger and we have done just fine.

If you will have your car with you, Kidani Village is a better resort for parking. There is a parking garage on the first floor of the resort and very easy to park. If staying at BWV, parking can be a pain.

Good luck with your decision.

 

[lynn_s]

I have stayed at both (Studio at BWV, 1 BR jambo std view ), and while the BWV is very convenient, I love the theming at AK much more. There are plenty of places to see the savanahs from at AK if you have a standard room, you just have to go walk around a bit.

If you are going to hang around the resort at all, 'Id go for AK. Otherwise, Boardwalk was great (can beat running down to bakery & get a coffee/snack to eat while waiting for the boat to Epcot or HS).

 

[eeyoresmom]

I have stayed at both many times and like them each for different reasons. For a winter trip I would go with AKV Jambo without a doubt. You can spend hours in the lobby alone sitting at the indoor fire pit, looking at the artwork, etc. It has a very warm, cacoonish feeling. Jambo has a really good cs restaurant also. Love the BW too, but you have to walk outside for almost everything and it definitely feels more "summery".

 

[DisneyDiana]

For a winter vacation, AKV! If we are short on points we split our stay with standard and savannah. The standards are just fine though. There are so many places to see the animals. We like Jambo much better than Kidani but they are both great. Jambo lobby is wonderful and cozy with the fire pit. Wish I was there now instead of looking out my window at snow and ice.

 

[JAMIESMITH]

Jamie.... you picked my two favorite resorts!

While I do not know anything about the smoking areas, I would think your daughter would absolutely love staying at AKV - Kidani Village. And I would splurge a little and get a Savannah View Studio. Your daughter could wake up and see giraffes right outside her window.

Both of these resorts have an opportunity of long walks but My DW and I never minded either. I'm 63 and she is a little younger and we have done just fine.

If you will have your car with you, Kidani Village is a better resort for parking. There is a parking garage on the first floor of the resort and very easy to park. If staying at BWV, parking can be a pain.

Good luck with your decision.

Since they're your two favorite resorts, I won't be going wrong with either one?

We won't have a car with us, that's one reason I'm leaning towards BWV.

I really would love to stay in a savannah view room at AKV, but I'm stretching our budget now by staying two more nights than we did on our first trip

Thanks so much for your feedback on both resorts!!!

I have stayed at both (Studio at BWV, 1 BR jambo std view ), and while the BWV is very convenient, I love the theming at AK much more. There are plenty of places to see the savanahs from at AK if you have a standard room, you just have to go walk around a bit.

If you are going to hang around the resort at all, 'Id go for AK. Otherwise, Boardwalk was great (can beat running down to bakery & get a coffee/snack to eat while waiting for the boat to Epcot or HS).

We would probably spend more time at BWV than AKV simply because it would be more convenient for some afternoon breaks. I do plan to spend part of our arrival day at the resort we pick. I'm also hoping to put our daughter in one of the child care centers one evening so my hubby and I can have some grown up time

I have stayed at both many times and like them each for different reasons. For a winter trip I would go with AKV Jambo without a doubt. You can spend hours in the lobby alone sitting at the indoor fire pit, looking at the artwork, etc. It has a very warm, cacoonish feeling. Jambo has a really good cs restaurant also. Love the BW too, but you have to walk outside for almost everything and it definitely feels more "summery".

This is what makes me want to try AKV despite how far it is from everything!

For a winter vacation, AKV! If we are short on points we split our stay with standard and savannah. The standards are just fine though. There are so many places to see the animals. We like Jambo much better than Kidani but they are both great. Jambo lobby is wonderful and cozy with the fire pit. Wish I was there now instead of looking out my window at snow and ice.

I think I would prefer Jambo House over Kidani Village, too. We usually only see snow and ice once every three or four years here in Mississippi, but we've had it four times this year!!! I need a vacation!

 

[eeyoresmom]

I am sure to get flamed for this, but I think the bus transportation at the EPCOT resorts stinks. You will share with at least one other resort, in slower seasons probably more. This makes the busses very crowded. Like I said earlier, I still love BWV and do stay there but the bus transportation is a negative for me. When we do stay there I just adjust my attitude about the transportation. I do think your DD would like AKV more. It is a unique expeience where as BWV in the winter will probably just seem like a nice hotel to her.

 

[mouseaider]

We own at BWV but we really enjoyed the stay at AKV. The resort is vey peaceful and relaxing.

There are reasons for staying at both and from your last post I think you've already decided where to stay.

You really don't have to stay in a Savannah view to see the animals as they have viewing areas. I suggested Kidani Village because the bus stops there first. We also didn't care for the darkness of Animal Kingdom Lodge when we visited it a few years ago.

We love being able to walk to DHS and Epcot and we absolutely love everything about being on the boardwalk during the evening hours!

And as far as budget stretching goes..... understood. We do the same thing. We eat less at the parks and more back in the villa thanks to the Garden Grocer.

So enjoy your planning.... and enjoy watching your daughters face light up at everything magical at WDW! That's what it is all about anyways!

 

[JAMIESMITH]

I am sure to get flamed for this, but I think the bus transportation at the EPCOT resorts stinks. You will share with at least one other resort, in slower seasons probably more. This makes the busses very crowded. Like I said earlier, I still love BWV and do stay there but the bus transportation is a negative for me. When we do stay there I just adjust my attitude about the transportation. I do think your DD would like AKV more. It is a unique expeience where as BWV in the winter will probably just seem like a nice hotel to her.

No reason for flaming! That was actually one of the few things we didn't like about The Polynesian. We shared buses with The Contemporary and The Grand Floridian. We were usually able to find a seat, but not always and the buses were FULL. Since we only spent one day each in AK and HS, it wasn't so bad, but definitely not as nice as taking a boat or catching the monorail.

We own at BWV but we really enjoyed the stay at AKV. The resort is vey peaceful and relaxing.

There are reasons for staying at both and from your last post I think you've already decided where to stay.

You really don't have to stay in a Savannah view to see the animals as they have viewing areas. I suggested Kidani Village because the bus stops there first. We also didn't care for the darkness of Animal Kingdom Lodge when we visited it a few years ago.

We love being able to walk to DHS and Epcot and we absolutely love everything about being on the boardwalk during the evening hours!

And as far as budget stretching goes..... understood. We do the same thing. We eat less at the parks and more back in the villa thanks to the Garden Grocer.

So enjoy your planning.... and enjoy watching your daughters face light up at everything magical at WDW! That's what it is all about anyways!

I really haven't decided where to stay. I keep waffling back and forth. I'm honestly considering telling David's to reserve me whichever one they can get points for first. We are currently on their AKV wait list.

I think a lot of the evening activities at AKV are appealing, especially since we will have a little one with us. My only concern is how far away from everything it is.

I am hoping that this trip will be a little more laid back than our first one. We were able to do a lot, but we didn't do quite as much relaxing as I would have liked and there were still a lot of things that made it onto our list of things to see next time. That's part of the reason we're staying longer this time.

Thank you for all your help!

 

[Darkside]

We are staying at both in July. We will spend the first 2 days at BCV , those days we will go to MK and Epcot(to take advantage of location and monorail), third day is our resort day to enjoy Stormalong Bay and then go to AKV to spend the rest of the week going to AK and DHS. The bell men can take your luggage to AKL because you mentioned that you won't have a car. I feel Savanna view is over rated and not worth the extra points, but that is our preference. Just a different twist to what you are planning.

 

[JAMIESMITH]

We are staying at both in July. We will spend the first 2 days at BCV , those days we will go to MK and Epcot(to take advantage of location and monorail), third day is our resort day to enjoy Stormalong Bay and then go to AKV to spend the rest of the week going to AK and DHS. The bell men can take your luggage to AKL because you mentioned that you won't have a car. I feel Savanna view is over rated and not worth the extra points, but that is our preference. Just a different twist to what you are planning.

It sounds like you have a great plan! I think we will probably stay at one of these resorts and visit the other at some point during our trip. I'm a little intimidated by split stays. I'm not sure how my husband would feel about packing our stuff back up and moving mid-trip.

 

[Darkside]

It's not for everyone, but we are used to doing it. Fortunately, the cast members at both resorts(especially AKL) are some of the best we have seen and they make split stays easy. It was the only way we could get the vacation we wanted and we take a resort day in the middle of our stay which helps this process.

 

[JAMIESMITH]

It's not for everyone, but we are used to doing it. Fortunately, the cast members at both resorts(especially AKL) are some of the best we have seen and they make split stays easy. It was the only way we could get the vacation we wanted and we take a resort day in the middle of our stay which helps this process.

I think I would be a lot more comfortable with this after we have a few more trips under our belt! I think a resort day in the middle of your stay is a fantastic way to transition from one place to another.

 

[WanderlustNZ]

During Sep/Oct last year I rented 2 different sets of points and stayed 5 nights at BWV in a lake view studio and 6 nights at AKV (Jambo) in what I think was a Savannah view studio. I say 'think' as I had booked and paid for a standard view and was expecting to see the pool. Instead we had a wonderful view of the animals with a circular animal pen below our balcony. The pen was hardly an eye-sore and we barely noticed it, but I did wonder if it being there meant the room was classified as 'standard'.

Either way, I thought AKV was considerably better than BWV. I really liked BWV, but I loved AKV.
Everything from the huge lobby, to the grounds, to the stunning wooden architecture, made me so relaxed and happy, I never wanted to leave.

I visited Kidani during my trip and was pleased I was staying at Jambo. For a regular visitor, I can see the appeal of Kidani, but for a first timer like myself, I liked being blown away by the grandeur of Jambo. Kidani just didn't quite have the same wow factor.

If stretching the budget to stay in a Savannah room is possible, I highly recommend doing it. I thought I would be perfectly content in a standard room (hence the reason I booked one), and at the end of the day, I'm sure I would have been content. But getting the Savannah view was way better than I could have imagined. Every time I woke up in the morning, or got back to my room at the end of the day, I would race straight to the balcony with the animal spotting sheet they gave me at check-in to look for animals. The view was constantly changing and the room became my happy place.

BWV, on the other hand, was lovely, but it just seemed to miss out on some of the magic of AKV. For a start, I thought the decor of the room was pretty unexciting and dated. I also agree with the poster who thought the transportation system at the BWV is awful. The buses seemed to always pick us up first and drop us off last, meaning that we had to visit the Beach Club, Swan, and Dolphin on every trip. The buses to the AKV may have had a further distance to cover, but without all the stops they actually felt shorter.
The boat system at BWV was even worse. We always walked between BWV and HS and 3 out of 4 times we got to our destination faster than the boat. The one night we did decide to catch a boat back to BWV, the queue was so long, and the boats so infrequent, we gave up waiting after about 20 minutes, walked, and still got back quicker than had we stayed in the queue.
On the plus side, the positioning for Epcot is excellent, the Boardwalk itself is charming, and the food at the bakery is delicious.
I also have the fondest memories of sitting on the balcony watching Wishes to my left, Illuminations to my right, and jugglers and boardwalk games below me. But as lovely as that was, I actually preferred watching the giraffes and zebras.

I know this is all personal preference and everyone is different, but hopefully something I've said has been helpful.

 

[LaurenT]

I own at AKL and am in love with it. I love Jambo and Kidani, each for different reasons.
I haven't stayed at BWV, but I've stayed at the other Epcot resorts (Beach, Swan and Dolphin).
It's nice to be right next to everything, but I prefer to get back to my AKL and feel like I'm someplace special! Also, the pool is awesome and you never know what temps you might get. There is a food chance it will be too cool to swim, but it was toasty warm mid Feb this year and we wound up in the pool a couple of times!
It is father away than most of the other resorts, but it's sometimes taken me longer waiting for the bus and then stoping so many times when staying at the Epcot resorts. Once we completely missed Morning EMH because the bus kept filling up at the resort before us and passing us by! And we had left our room at 7:20!
The buses at AKL have never been an issue for me. It's a dedicated bus and goes straight to the park. I really wouldn't let that be a deciding factor for me. If your daughter loves giraffes, I strongly recommend AKL - standard view is fine, in fact, paying extra for savannah view does not guarantee that you'll be on the savannah that has the giraffes. Be sure to have lunch at Sanaa if you can! The food, service and atmosphere are all fabulous and your daughter will be able to watch the giraffes out the window while you eat!

 

[JAMIESMITH]

It seems that AKV is the clear favorite! I hadn't realized that not sharing buses would be such a plus. If I can get a reservation, I think I'll give this resort a try! Thanks everyone for your input